Comics Takeko Nakano (1846-1868) The Samurai Who Refused to Die Quietly When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.
Vasilisa Vasilyevna (Russian Folktale) The Gender-Nonconforming Heroine Who Kept the Tsar Guessing When the Tsar became hellbent on nailing down her gender, this clever gender-nonconforming heroine kept him guessing to the end.
Kate Shelley (1863-1912) The Girl Who Saved a Train To save an oncoming passenger train, this 15-year-old girl climbed across a collapsing bridge, with nothing but flashes of lightning to keep her from falling to her death in the flooding river below -- a river that had already killed her father.
Jackie Mitchell (1913-1987) The Teen Who Struck Out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig In 1931, a seventeen-year-old girl struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in front of a crowd of thousands -- and then was benched into obscurity.
Li Chi (5th century BCE myth) The Serpent Slayer When a monster demanded teenage girl sacrifice, Li Chi saved herself, and was crowned princess for her troubles.
Eréndira (early 16th century) How to Train Your Horse When horse-riding Spaniards invaded, she defied her tribe to befriend one of the abandoned horses, using her new bond to fight off the Spanish.
Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904) The Undefinable Adventurer This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.
Tsuruhime Ohori (1526-1543) The Savior of Omishima Island When invaders threatened her island home, she declared herself a living god, raised an army, and fought them tooth, nail, and occasional grenade.
Molly Craig (c.1917-2004) The Mother Who Walked Across Australia (Twice) The daughter of an aboriginal woman and a white man, her race led her to be kidnapped by the Australian government - only for her to escape and walk across the continent to get home... twice.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431) The Maid of Orleans The infamous teen girl who helped end the Hundred Years War and save France – but do you know how she got to such prominence? This book has an answer, and it involves another powerful woman, operating behind the scenes…